Search is on for town caretaker for Whitley Bay

David Sedgwick

A ‘caretaker’ is being sought to help improve the look and feel of Whitley Bay.

The Big Lottery-funded Whitley Bay Big Local is looking to trial a project for a caretaker to undertake small jobs while encouraging a greater sense of community pride.

The volunteer group is looking to appoint a Whitley Bay resident who can carry out jobs such as small-scale weeding and litter-picking in public areas.

The Big Local environment groups that the caretaker role, which has been successfully trialled in other Big Local areas, will help encourage more members of the local community to come together and get involved in small scale jobs.

Sue Miller, Whitley Bay Big Local volunteer, said: “The Whitley Bay caretaker role will provide us with an opportunity to make a real difference at a very local level and build on some of the fantastic efforts already made by members of the community.

“All too often people are unhappy about the way things look but feel unable or sometimes unwilling to do anything about it themselves.

“We hope that our new caretaker will engage with the community and both encourage and empower residents to make a difference to the streets where they live.

“We are by no means talking about doing the job of North Tyneside Council or taking work away from paid professionals but are looking for someone who can help to get some of the small jobs done that currently fall to nobody whilst also supporting some of our less able members of the community to undertake small DIY projects such as fixing broken garden gates or cutting back overhanging bushes that block the pavements.”

She added: “This role doesn’t come with a fixed list of tasks but rather we are looking for somebody who can liaise directly with the local community and Big Local volunteers in order to map out the jobs that are needed to be done.”

Felicity Shoesmith, community and voluntary sector manager at North Tyneside Council, said: “This role will complement the services that the council provides and is all about going above and beyond to help enhance the local environment.

“We work closely with Whitley Bay Big Local and as a council we are committed to making sure the borough is a great place to live, work and visit so this new opportunity is a positive step in supporting this.”